Strava Appoints David Swain as Vice President of Content Strategy

Swain brings expertise in global content and creator strategy to the rapidly growing social platform for athletes

News provided by

Sep 30, 2021, 09:30 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Strava, the leading social platform for over 90 million athletes and the largest sports community in the world, today announced the hire of David Swain as Vice President of Content Strategy.

David Swain, Vice President of Content Strategy at Strava.

Swain brings significant experience in storytelling and developing creator communities to Strava's management team. Having served as Instagram's first Head of Global Communications, David was responsible for setting the direction of the company's global communication programs and played a key role in many of its biggest product, partnership, marketing and growth initiatives.

This hire comes at a high-momentum moment for Strava, the leading subscription service for athletes, and its rapidly-growing community of over 90 million athletes which continues to grow by two million athletes per month.

Founded in 2009 by Michael Horvath and Mark Gainey, the company has hired over 100 new employees year to date. With that growth comes a renewed focus on ensuring the board is structured with highly skilled and strategic business leaders that will continue to accelerate the growth of its community and further amplify Strava's position as the largest sports community in the world.

Strava has released over 80 new features and updates to its free and subscription offerings so far this year, including routing and mapping innovations, group challenges, improved privacy controls and partner integrations.

"Swain is a proven leader known for scaling global brands and driving growth through storytelling in service of passionate and inclusive global communities. His depth and breadth of experience is invaluable in Strava's mission to connect athletes to what motivates them and help them find their personal best,'' said Michael Horvath, Strava CEO.

David joined Strava as an advisor in 2016 and has since been integral in bringing Strava's athlete experience to life. As the Vice President of Content Strategy, Swain continues this directive and will focus on unlocking the stories celebrating the people, places and activities of the world's athletes.

"Strava has a rare opportunity to reimagine storytelling in sport as it continues to build a positive, inclusive community. It's an honor to bring my passion for storytelling and community building to such a purpose-driven company at the center of connected fitness," said David Swain, Vice President of Content Strategy at Strava.

Prior to joining Strava, David co-founded Prokit in 2018, a platform that offers athletes a place to share stories and find inspiration. Content and community are central to Prokit's DNA, and having Prokit join the Strava family will inform the storytelling tools and features brought to athletes.

For more information on Strava or to start a free subscription trial visit www.strava.com.

Press Contact
[email protected]

About Strava
Strava is the leading digital platform for athletes and the largest sports community in the world, with over 90 million athletes in 195 countries. If you sweat you're an athlete, and Strava's mobile apps and website connect millions of active people every day. Strava gives athletes simple, fun ways to stay motivated and compete against themselves and others without having to be in the same place at the same time. All athletes belong on Strava no matter where they live, which sport they love or what device they use. Join the community and make the most of your sport with a Strava subscription.

Our favorite stats:

More than 5 billion activities have been shared on Strava
Athletes in every country on earth
More than 2 million new athletes join per month
40 million activities uploaded per week
Over 30 million Segments
Over 2,200 professional athletes on Strava
300 employees around the world, with offices in San Francisco, CA, Denver, CO, Bristol, UK and Dublin, Ireland.
7.1 billion Kudos given between athletes last year
Over 4 million photos shared per week
Over 1,000 communities making commuting better with Strava Metro